BOOK: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Year: 2020 Author: Suzanne Collins Length: 517 pages I’m skeptical of any franchise that feels the need to explore the world of their original, highly successful franchise with a prequel. Often, it adds nothing other than some background that ultimately doesn’t matter because we all know how things start with the original stories. That being said, after watching and enjoying the movie adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023), I figured I would give the book a shot. Once again, Suzanne Collins broke my expectations with some of the best writing and continued world-building in literature. Following the rise of the main villain of the Hunger Games trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes provides engaging and well thought out plot twists that show the reader the specific circumstances that led to the rise of Coriolanus Snow. That I was actually rooting for this kid all the while knowing what he would eventually become is quite a...
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MOVIE: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & SnakesYear: 2023Rating: PG-13Length: 157 minutes / 2.61 hours I think it's hard to appreciate how The Hunger Games movies did a decent job of adapting the source material for the big screen while not evolving into a behemoth of a franchise. That Suzanne Collins made it clear that there was only the three books, and she didn't want to do anything else until she was ready was a welcome change from an entertainment industry that likes to squeeze as much money out of popular things as fast as possible. With this in mind, I can applaud The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) for being respectful of the original trilogy while also trying to expand the narrative in prequel form. While not a completely necessary prequel, it was still interesting to see how early versions of the Hunger Games were run. Of course, our knowledge of how they eventually evolve into something worse is...
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BOOK: Red Rising (2014)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Red RisingYear: 2014Author: Pierce BrownLength: 400 pages It is difficult to review a book like Red Rising without noting the heavy comparisons to The Hunger Games. Perhaps this speaks to the strength of The Hunger Games’ format, but there are almost too many parallels to ignore. Dystopian class-separated society? Check. A skilled lower-class individual who defies the odds? Check. Violence and a romantic subplot? Check and check. About the only difference between the two is that Red Rising takes place on Mars and over a few years instead of a week or so. Of course, it’s hard to tell the timespan since important details always seem to be missing from the first-person narrative. If anything, I’d peg Red Rising as the gritty, over-violent, and over-sexualized version of The Hunger Games. If The Hunger Games appeals to girls and women, Red Rising should appeal to boys and men. A lot of the content in this book felt a bit over the top and...
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BOOK: The Maze Runner (2009)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Maze Runner Year: 2009 Author: James Dashner Length: 650 minutes / 10.83 hours Partly due to the success of The Hunger Games, the Young Adult genre swerved into the survival/sci-fi/dystopian genres that also allowed The Maze Runner to have a ready and willing audience. With this being the case, I’d almost say The Maze Runner has more utopian sensibilities since the narrative encourages teamwork for survival, instead of a “winner take all” emphasis presented in The Hunger Games that valued selfish ambitions over communistic altruism. Plus, if you put 50 teenage boys in a box with no adult supervision, I think the logical conclusion would be more along the lines of Lord of the Flies instead of solving a deadly maze. While the premise was interesting and allowed for a constant and steady pacing of inciting events, I felt there was not enough explanation in this first part of the trilogy, with very few questions being answered by the end and a lot of hand-waving to push the characters forward to a conclusion....
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